In modern commercial aircraft, structural assemblies, such as, for example, the fuselage shell, individual fuselage shell segments or a floor system of the aircraft, usually have a multipart construction, in which one or more area element(s) is/are connected to a stiffening or support structure formed separately from the area element(s), in order to give the structural assembly the required structural stiffness and buckling stability. In a fuselage shell or a fuselage shell segment, the components referred to here as area elements are formed, for example, by the shell elements defining the aircraft outer skin and the stiffening or support structure is formed by the ribs and/or stringers of the aircraft structure. By contrast, a conventional aircraft floor system comprises, for example, area elements configured in the form of floor panels which are mounted on a support structure comprising a plurality of transverse supports extending parallel to one another and perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft. Such an aircraft floor system is described, for example, in DE 10 2007 062 111 A1.
The floor system known from DE 10 2007 062 111 A1 and serving to separate a passenger cabin from a cargo compartment arranged below the passenger cabin comprises a transverse support structure composed of metal or a carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP). Floor panels designed with a sandwich construction are mounted on the transverse support structure. Screws passing through the floor panels serve to fasten the floor panels to the individual transverse supports of the transverse support structure. Furthermore, ceiling panels of a cargo compartment ceiling which extend parallel to the floor panels and are likewise designed with a sandwich construction are fastened to the transverse support structure.
DE 10 2005 045 181 A1, by contrast, discloses an aircraft floor system having floor panels which are formed from a fibre composite material and are formed in one piece with support elements of a transverse or longitudinal support structure. The floor panels comprise a plane covering plate which is adhesively bonded, in the region of its underside facing away from a walkable floor surface, to the support elements of a transverse or longitudinal support structure.